Racing Post is one of the lucky publications that has its niche cornered. Similar to publications with a strong hold on their audience, it has successfully put online subscriptions to good use since the early 2000s. But not all paywalls are created equal, and Racing Post was working with a homemade solution that was no longer cutting the mustard. It decided to revamp its paid content strategy to better serve its consumers, grow subscriber numbers, and collect greater insight into its audience.

Adobe to Acquire Virtual Ubiquity, Partner with Business Objects

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Adobe Systems Incorporated announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Virtual Ubiquity and its online word processor, Buzzword. Buzzword was built with Adobe Flex software and intends to enable greater document quality, typography, page layout controls, and support for integrated graphics, regardless of the browser or device. The application also will run on Adobe AIR, offering users a hybrid online/offline experience and the ability to work with both hosted and local documents. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close by the end of November 2007. The addition of Virtual Ubiquity is not expected to have a material impact to Adobe revenue and earnings in fiscal year 2007.

Furthermore, Adobe Systems and Business Objects have agreed to jointly develop new technology in an attempt to improve the productivity of information workers. Under the terms of the agreement, Adobe and Business Objects will undertake multiple initiatives to drive product interoperability and optimization, technology adoption, and product distribution. One of the main initiatives of the partnership is the development of a Business Objects Xcelsius Connector to Adobe LiveCycle Data Services ES. LiveCycle Data Services, a component of Adobe LiveCycle Enterprise Suite software, provides data remoting, messaging, and data management capabilities to help developers more integrate rich internet applications (RIAs) with existing applications, back-end data, and J2EE infrastructure. The Connector will allow Xcelsius users to utilize LiveCycle Data Services to stream real-time data into Xcelsius interactive dashboards, animated charts and graphs, financial presentations, or business calculators.